Honda hydrogen car??

[Trahere]

If Honda made a Tractor I would buy one!

 

[coffeeman]

Hi all

Just reading an article about GE prototype hydrogen generator that will make hydrogen at the equivalent of $3 a gallon of gas. A GE research rep says, "I could imagine a small box that sits on-site making hydrogen for a factory." I gotta tell ya; If we can dream it, someday someone will make it. The 2 way wrist radio from the comic books, only a dream years ago and today most have one.

Probably will take years, even if possible.

Cheers ..Coffeeman

 

[Big_Charlie]

Hi all

Just reading an article about GE prototype hydrogen generator that will make hydrogen at the equivalent of $3 a gallon of gas. A GE research rep says, "I could imagine a small box that sits on-site making hydrogen for a factory." I gotta tell ya; If we can dream it, someday someone will make it. The 2 way wrist radio from the comic books, only a dream years ago and today most have one.

Probably will take years, even if possible.

Cheers ..Coffeeman

But then what do you do with it once you've got it? It's a terrible fuel for combustion engines, you get less than the $3 worth of energy out of it running it through a fuel cell, and it's a real pain in the butt to store. Every time they fill the fuel tank on the Space Shuttle with liquid H2 and O2, they lose thousands of gallons of H2 to evaporation and leakage just while moving it from the onsite storage facility to the big orange tank and back again should they have to abort the takeoff and defuel the ship. It's great rocket fuel, but that's about it, and only when mixed with liquid oxygen! And even NASA is looking at alternatives to these two difficult fuels. They've been evaluating kerosene and methanol fueled rockets for a while with hydrogen peroxide as the oxidizer. They're a whole lot safer and easier to work with than liquid H2 - you know, like being stable in a liquid form at room temperature and higher.

 

[IH3444]

Big Charlie got it right, extremely expensive fuel cell tank for car, not to mention the huge investment for refueling stations. Electric cars for commuting make more sense. The ones you can plug in at home over night and recharge.

 

[coffeeman]

Hey there Charlie

I really don't have an idea what to do with it. Just read an article that GE researchers think there is something there. Maybe they are just blowing smoke and burning up government research money? I may have a casual interest in a lot of things, but it's just casual. It's like popcorn; I want to know a little about popping the corn, but I really don't need to know the science of why it pops. It's got to taste good though. In the fuel and cars case, I'll keep an eye on all the new things and if something looks like it can save $$ then I'll jump on the bandwagon. Thing I see is; if GM, Honda and GE seem to think something is worth looking at, I'll take a casual interest in it. Don't mention the science to me, my brain is already too full.

Have a good one.....Coffeeman
.
.

But then what do you do with it once you've got it? It's a terrible fuel for combustion engines, you get less than the $3 worth of energy out of it running it through a fuel cell, .

 

[Tom_Veatch]

...
Oh yeah...it's also some of the most volatile stuff in the universe, think rocket fuel and the element stars burn in their atomic fusion bellies.
...

Now that's the way to burn hydrogen - like the stars do!

If we can figure out how to sustain and control hydrogen fusion, a little dewar flask the size of a quart thermos bottle would probably hold more than you'd need for the entire life of the car. Don't know that for a fact, haven't run any numbers, but hydrogen fusion produces an absolutely astonishing, unbelievable amount of energy. But really hard to light it off. Probably changed since I been keeping up with it, but used to be you needed an atomic (fission) bomb as the detonator for a hydrogen (fusion) bomb.

But, just think, get a car that's prefueled when you buy it. Wouldn't ever need to fill up again. Only stops necessary on a trip would be to fill/drain the personal tanks.

 

[patrick_g]

Someone please post a notice when cold fusion is perfected and within the cost of the average homeowner. Then hydrogen made from electrolysis will be cost effective and hydrogen powered cars will be cost effective.

Meanwhile I will just keep driving my Prius. Unless we suddenly start putting lots more miles on it I will not hit 100K miles till it is at least 10 years old. The '08 Prius is supposed to have newer better battery technology, greater electric range, and a plug in for home charging to save on gas. Charging at home is supposed to be cheaper than burning gas to charge itself with the '08 model.

As a long time reader of "Popular Science" I know that just about everyone in suburbia will have a flying car real soon now.

Pat

 

[IH3444]

Studied fusion power, and wrote a paper on it for an upper end QM physics class. The bigger the containment vessel, the closer to break even energy point you reach. Several different angles of efforts are being pursued. The great humor point for fusion power is that we are only 20 years away from a working fusion energy source. The joke part is that we are always 20 years away from a working prototype model. Plants do seperate hydrogen, and oxygen. Been a great point of study, if we can figure that out for a cost saving of energy we may have something.

 

[Fishguy]

You have to remember, there was a lot of people who said the "horseless carriage" would never last !!! They just didn't have the internet to share their opinions!!
Keep an open mind.

Steve

 

[IH3444]

Sorry if you assumed I have a closed mind fishguy, nothing could be futher from the truth.